


first pick

by sunarists



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:20:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24662962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunarists/pseuds/sunarists
Summary: even covered in blood, unconscious after her fall from the sky, clarke thinks this girl is the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/John Murphy, Clarke Griffin/Raven Reyes
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72





	first pick

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silvcrs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvcrs/gifts).



> just a short little princess mech for rosa and our nightly princess mech breakdowns
> 
> anywho- this is canon divergence taking place in s1- it's a little lighter than the original for plot purposes but isn't complete fluff. murphamy if you squint

Clarke's running as soon as she sees it. 

A pod, dropping from the sky, from the Ark- first contact from their people since Bellamy had broken their cuffs, broken their connections, ruined _everything-_ Clarke's too young to feel so old, but their weeks on the Ground had aged them. 

For the first time in a long time, Clarke feels a spark of hope coming from a desolate place. 

The brush of the forest is thick, but she's learned agility, learned speed even when her legs are burning and her lungs are straining. It's survival. Bellamy is hot at her heels, their shaky truce and tensions forgotten as they race through damp peat and bushes together. Clarke feels her heart in her ears as they come into a clearing, her breath catching at the sight of the pod. 

It's smoking, slightly, and the acrid scent of burning metal and plastic fill the air. With a pang of misery, Clarke's not sure if anyone in there made it- she prays it wasn't her mother, her rash, quick-thinking mother- putting together a malfunctioning pod in her desperation to save her daughter is absolutely something Abby Griffin would do. 

"Is there a radio?" Bellamy's low voice breathes quickly, too quickly. She looks at him, narrowing her eyes suspiciously for a second before turning her attention back to the pod. 

Her hands find the lever on the hatch, and she strains with a grunt to pull it open just as the sky begins to drizzle on them all. 

The door reveals an unconcious girl, blood trailing down her face and hardening at the wound on her forehead. Her cheekbones are sharp under long lashes, her lips red and full, and her long brown hair is slicked back in a sleek ponytail, messy from where her helmet had fallen off. 

Morbidly, Clarke thinks this is one of the most beautiful people she's ever seen, even blacked out and broken. 

Soon, the girl's eyelids are fluttering open, brown eyes opening blearily.

"Are you- are you Clarke?" She murmurs croakily, rubbing her eyes with a wince. Clarke cocks her head curiously. 

"How do you know who I am?" She asks sharply, but not unkindly.

"I'm Raven." The brunette answers instead, quirking her lip up. 

Clarke finds herself placing a guiding hand under Raven's arm, helping her out of the dropship. Raven smiles at her gratefully, all straight white teeth and dimples and eyes that crinkled in the corners. She doesn't answer her question, but Clarke suddenly can't seem to remember it anyways. 

"Is it- is this _rain?"_ Raven whispers, but it echoes loudly in the clearing. Even Bellamy, stone-faced Bellamy, cracks a small smile, remembering his own first steps on the Ground, first breaths of the sweet-tasting air. 

Raven laughs, musical, chiming through the forest, spinning around in her spacesuit underneath the rain, the water making her tan skin glow with a healthy sheen. Her brown hair curls slightly at her ears and at the ends- she looks young, carefree, head injury forgotten in her joy. 

Clarke can't take her eyes off the sight of her, but doesn't forget about the oozing cut on her forehead. 

"Wow." Raven breathes, her head swivelling around- the sky, the trees, the flowers, the clouds. It's not the most beautiful day to land on the Ground, not during a glowing orange sunset or her first sunrise or a clear, blue day. But it is the Ground, so it's breathtaking no matter what. 

"Let's take you back to the camp." Clarke murmurs, unable to keep her hands to herself, slinging a helping arm underneath Raven's armpits. "We can check out that nasty injury." 

The mechanic is looking a little dazed now, after her initial adrenaline rush- she'd just taken a century year old pod and landed on Earth in it _alive-_ if anything was a feat of greatness, it was _that._

"Thanks, doc." Raven murmurs- her eyelids are drooping and each step she takes is slower, sagging down into the mud. "Just like your mom." 

Clarke's got thousands of questions on her tongue, her throat tightening at the mention of her mother, but it's the last thing she says before Raven's blacking out again, slumping to the ground. Bellamy easily takes her other arm, and the two of them carry their newest addition back to the dropship in silence. 

* * *

Raven throws herself into Finn's arms, and Clarke's stomach twists uncomfortably at the sight of it- is she jealous of Finn, or of Raven? Are they an item? Was _Clarke_ the third party?

"My best friend." Finn beams proudly, looking at Raven with affection. It seems to be the fraternal type, the way Clarke used to look at Wells. "The youngest zero-G mechanic ever." 

So no- not an item. Clarke allows herself to relax, but she's still uncomfortable, her eyes flicking between the pair- Finn with his beautiful long hair and warm smile and gentle hands, starkly contrasting Raven and her sharp tongue and cocky stature and hands that were made for building, fixing, and taking apart. 

"Damn right." Raven puffs her chest. " _Fuck_ that heart murmur."

Bellamy's slipped away in the midst of the camp's distraction- he's been so jumpy, since watching Raven fall out of the sky, but Clarke's not bothered to delve too deeply into the mind of Bellamy Blake. 

Finn's arm finds its way around her waist, and Clarke's not sure what it is- but it doesn't feel _right._ It's too heavy, large and masculine, and it no longer brings her comfort the way it had days prior. She's not sure, where she stands with Finn, but she truly _did_ care for him. 

Just not the way he wanted her too. 

Raven looks at their interaction with a calculating gaze before flicking her eyebrows up in surprise, smirking in that way that Clarke thinks is probably familiar to her. 

"Careful with him, doc." She warns, but her eyes are low, a little sad maybe, at the sight of them. "Precious cargo." 

Clarke chuckles uneasily, trailing off and dying into silence. Finn smiles at her before letting himself be dragged off with Raven to explore her new home, and Clarke finally stands alone

* * *

The bridge has to be destroyed, to protect the camp. There's no edging around it, and it makes Clarke feel sick when she realises there's not avoiding death either. 

Raven and Jasper are in the tent working on the bomb, low chatter and metal parts clanking coming from the thin shelter. Clarke's still tired, from the virus, but she feels better than she did yesterday, and that's enough. She's a leader, now. People are looking to her. And no matter how exhausting it is, she has to set an example. 

Bellamy himself is trying his best to pull his weight- his face streaks with blood that falls from his eyes, and he's pale and shaken. He keeps his distance, from Finn and Raven, who haven't yet caught the illness, dabbing at his face with a cloth Murphy had given him.

Clarke and Finn don't talk much, anymore- she thinks perhaps, with a misplaced happiness, that he'd noticed her glances lingering on Raven's figure too often, seen the way she listened to Raven with intent fascination even when she didn't understand a lick of what she was saying. 

It doesn't change the fear she feels when she hears him say, "I'll place the bomb." 

It's too dangerous- Jasper's still recovering from his spear wound, Monty's engineering skills are desperately needed and Bellamy, much as Clarke hates to admit it, is a leader around here too. Raven's their only mechanic, leaving Finn to be the last man standing. 

"No." Clarke and Raven say in unison, paying each other no mind- they have a shared cause, trying to keep Finn out of danger. 

"I'm doing it." He snaps, with the most aggression Clarke's ever heard from him. "You're all too important. It has to be me." 

Raven storms out of the tent at that, the flap rocking back and forth where she'd exited angrily. She needs her moments, Clarke's learned, to think. To absorb. There's always so much going on in that big brain of hers. 

"We'll talk about this, first." Clarke snaps to the tent. She glares at them all, daring them to speak up and disagree. 

Even Bellamy keeps his mouth shut. 

Clarke walks out of the tent, eyes scanning the the camp for that familiar ponytail- always with a screwdriver or pen stuck in it. Raven is sitting on a log at the outskirts of camp, far away from the hustle and bustle of the delinquents. Her head is in her hands, and Clarke's heart breaks a little at the sight of her. 

"Hey." Clarke murmurs quietly as she approaches her. Raven looks up, her hostile eyes softening at the sight of her. 

"Hey." She mumbles back, and the log groans in protest under the weight of the two of them. 

"Talk to me, Raven." Clarke slings an arm around Raven, her heart racing a little when the brunette leans into the embrace, resting her head on Clarke's shoulder. 

"Is that an order, doc?" Raven teases quietly, her shoulders vibrating with a suppressed chuckle at her own joke. 

Clarke lets out an amused huff before squeezing the girl. "Yes. Yes it is. Talk." 

Raven's giggles ebb away quickly, and Clarke feels her sigh deeply, as if trying to find the words. 

"Finn can't die." She mumbles. "He's all I've got. All I've- all I've _ever had."_

Clarke smiles at her, the a sad little curve, but it's not pity her eyes are filled with. 

"Not anymore." She says gently. "You've got me- if you'll have me." 

Raven's eyes are looking a little red, her smirk the wobbliest Clarke's ever seen it- the most shaken she's looked since she fell from the sky. She's still beautiful, in this light. 

"I'll have you." Raven responds quietly. "And you can have me too." 

* * *

Clarke's ready for the incoming war up until she enters Raven's tent, only to find not only the bomb, but the mechanic herself, disappeared. 

The plan- well, the plan goes to shit, now. 

Clarke's already sprinting out of the camp, gesturing wildly at Bellamy to find Finn- the older man looks irritated, for his argument with Murphy to be interrupted, but he trudges off anyways.

Finn's going to go ballistic, but she's trying her best, now, to fix it. 

Clarke's stomach is twisting with dread as she runs through the forest, hopping over fallen logs and sliding through mud puddles. Sharp twigs and branches scratch at her face and limbs, but it's the least of her worries as she skids into the clearing overlooking the bridge. 

There Raven is, walking to the bridge. She's slow, too slow, her limbs moving like molasses, her head lolling about on her neck. Clarke already knows what's wrong without seeing the blood dripping from her eyes and mouth- she's _sick,_ after being in the tent with her and Bellamy yesterday. 

" _Raven!"_ Clarke's panicked cry echoes through the valley- she knows there are Grounders in the trees, their eyes trained on her shock of blonde hair in the midst of dark trees and dirt, but it's surprising how much she _doesn't_ care. Raven is in danger, and that's all that's ringing through Clarke's ears, buzzing around her skull like an alarm. 

The mechanic takes a second to look up at her- her brown eyes are so _dull_ , blood streaking down her cheeks and dripping onto her hands that hold the bomb that could save them all. She's on the bridge, now, ready to place it, but there's not enough time- the sun is rising, and soon the Grounders will march on them all. 

"Raven, _wait!"_ Clarke shrieks, her body on autopilot as she crawls down the ravine to the bridge, sliding down the damp peat. Across the bridge, she sees the first of the army- Anya stands at the very end of it, her cold eyes watching while her soldiers gathers behind her. They're waiting for the sun to rise, so true to their promise. They're a cruel people, but at least they're honest.

Raven's crawling towards the middle of the bridge, but the meters feel like miles to her- she's so, so sick, desperately so, hacking up blood onto the dusty stone of the structure, staining it red. Clarke's running, running, running. Behind her, she thinks she hears Finn, but she doesn't register his distressed cries. She hopes Bellamy holds him back- there's no need for Clarke to hold another life in her hands, not today. 

Raven's hands are shaking as she finally plants the bomb, prepping it for explosion. There's no way she can get away in the short time it'll take for the bomb to work- she'll be blown to pieces, little bits of Raven Reyes coating the bridge. Clarke sprints up the bridge just as Raven pulls her hands away from the device- it's smoking, there's no time-

"Raven!" Clarke shrieks, grabbing her by the underarms. The army is marching, now, slowly. Anya's got a trained eye on the bomb, looking at it curiously, but the army still doesn't stop. 

"Leave me." Raven moans- she's given up, her weight sagging in Clarke's arms. "You won't make it otherwise." 

Clarke glances at the bomb quickly- it looks so dangerous, in this morning light, but she still takes the time to cup Raven's face, focusing her. 

"Then we'll both die." Clarke says, as calmly as she can. Raven shakes her head, grunting with the effort- she tries weakly to shove Clarke away, but to no avail. Clarke pulls at her hopelessly, inch by inch, her heart pounding in her ears at the sight of the approaching Grounders and the bomb. 

"Come on, Raven." Clarke whispers desperately, slinging Raven's arms over her shoulder and propping her up. "Come on, Finn needs you. We need you. _I need you."_

Raven looks at Clarke with tired eyes- her skin is dull, her face is smeared with blood, and her hair lies limply around her shoulders, but Clarke looks away anyways- no matter what Raven looks like, she's still so amazing to her, her bright mind capturing Clarke's attention so easily no matter the circumstances. 

"Okay, doc." Raven murmurs. She heaves as they walk- Clarke's tugging her along, and Raven's just trying to stay on her feet, but they're moving, they're moving, they're moving. 

Just as they hit the other end of the bridge, the bomb explodes. Clarke looks up just in time to see a mushroom cloud that throws a shadow over the valley. Grounders fall into the rushing river, their pitiful screams going silent as they're claimed by death. Clarke can see Anya through the smoke- the leader looks over her dying army, shocked, her spear fallen to the ground by her dropped jaw. The debris finally clears to reveal the bridge destroyed- it's now impossible to cross, and Clarke breathes a sigh of relief when she realises that maybe the delinquents get to live one more day. 

"What the hell'd you do that for?" Clarke's surprised to hear her own voice break as she cradles Raven. The mechanic is so weak, trembling from where she clutches at Clarke with all the strength she can muster. 

"This is me having you." Raven mumbles- her eyes are fluttering, and Clarke is reminded sorely of when they found her in that pod. "I have Finn. I have _you."_

Clarke lets out an unintelligible noise, from the back of her throat that stems somewhere deep in her, maybe near her heart. Raven's unconscious once more, and Finn and Bellamy are approaching, but Clarke only holds her tighter, and Raven's head lolls onto her shoulder. 

Bellamy and Finn are quiet, as Clarke wipes the blood off of Raven's face, and the four of them stand on their side of the bridge while the Grounders mourn their losses on the other side, forgotten. 

* * *

Clarke can only watch Murphy run away from the dropship through the hole he blew in the wall, a simmering rage bubbling within her as he turns back to them. His eyes focus not on her, but Bellamy- Bellamy, who watches him curiously, rubbing at the new lashes on his throat. In his other hand, he clutches the towel that Murphy had lent him the day he was sick, the day Murphy had taken care of him. Murphy salutes them all, but his eyes linger on the older man once more before he finally turns to the forest.

Clarke doesn't think too much of that strange interaction, instead jumping below the dropship, where Raven is wailing. She's bleeding again, and Clarke's heart wrenches at the sight of the scarlet puddle around her. She can't seem to catch a break on the Ground, and Clarke rushes to her side immediately. 

"My back." Raven hisses, another guttural scream echoing through the structure. Clarke rolls her over to see that indeed, blood was streaming from a bullet wound in her back. Clarke winces after seeing that it was in her spine- she's no doctor, no matter how many times Raven calls her ' _doc',_ and this... this is out of her league. 

"We need to get you up." Clarke mutters, and she pounds on the metal above her, signalling Bellamy. "I can't see, down here." 

"It hurts." Raven whispers, tears streaking down her face. Clarke hears how broken she is with a pang- Raven's no warrior; she's the brains behind the operation, and she'd only come down to the Ground to protect her friend. 

She doesn't deserve all this pain. 

"I know." Clarke soothes, and once more, she cradles her friend gently, her fingers finding Raven's hands. "We'll fix this, Raven, I promise. We'll fix this." 

A tear falls onto Raven's hair- it's Clarke's, her eyes sore and wet from pure exhaustion. She's so tired of aching like this, so tired of fighting for her next meal, so tired of staying awake just so the others could sleep, so tired of having to pull a trigger just so she can see the sun once more. 

"Hey." Raven slurs, wincing from the pain in her back. "What's wrong?"

Clarke suppressed a bark of laughter- only _Raven_ would be concerned with her while she was quite _literally_ bleeding out. It makes Clarke's heart flutter a little- so misplaced, such wrong timing, but the heart wants what it wants _whenever_ it wants. 

"Nothing." Clarke chokes out. "I'm just thinking." 

Raven squeezes her hand softly, her breathing becoming laboured. 

"Don't think too hard, doc." She breathes. "You need a break too." 

* * *

The camp is busy today. Clarke's grateful for it- she's not sure she could stand to command the others right now. 

Jasper and Monty are somewhere tinkering around the dropship. In the distance, Finn is hammering against their wall. Bellamy's taken a break from grumbling about Murphy to order people around, the few stragglers milling about aimlessly suddenly becoming busy at the sight of him. 

Clarke sits by Raven, observing her and her injury. It's at the request of the mechanic, who's not fit to work alone, not right now. 

"I'd pick you first." 

The words slip out of Clarke's mouth thoughtlessly as she watches Raven fiddle with the wires- they're getting ready for a last-ditch attempt at survival. A hundred delinquents hopped up on fear and adrenaline just _trying their best._

Raven looks at her, her nimble and skilled fingers paused where they work. It's silent, for a beat, and Clarke worries for a moment that she fucked up, that it's not what Raven wants to hear, not right now. 

"Really?" She murmurs. Raven is sitting, hunched over the wires- she can't stand, from the bullet wound, and Clarke lowly understands that she might never walk again. It'll be difficult, survival without her legs, and Clarke worries for their future. 

The sides of their legs are pressed together- they're close, but Raven doesn't seem to mind. Clarke might be imagining it, but maybe Raven shuffles a little closer to her, ever so slightly. 

"Yeah." Clarke says hastily, looking away awkwardly. These feelings she's been trying so hard to repress since the pod dropped are always back at full force, at the sight of brown hair or a cocky, toothy smile or a red jacket. It's not the right time, for a crush, not while they're trying to _survive-_ but it can't be contained. 

"That means a lot, doc." Raven says quietly, settling her hands in her lap for a moment. Her fingers are dirty, smeared with oil and dirt and all sorts of debris, but it looks natural there. Her hands were made for this type of work. 

"I'm glad." Clarke replies, risking a glance at Raven. The mechanic is looking at her with wide eyes, chewing her full lips till they're bright red. There's a stain of _something_ on her nose, and Clarke can't help but reach up and wipe it off, rubbing at the spot gently. Raven doesn't take her eyes off Clarke and her movements, and the blonde feels mildly uncomfortable under her watchful gaze. 

"Something on my face?" Clarke teases quietly. Her hands fall to her own lap, so close to Raven's. She fights the temptation to grab them, to hold them, instead intertwining her own fingers together. 

Raven blushes a little, olive skin turning pink, and she seems to be a little lost in her thoughts. Her mouth is parted like she's looking for the right words. 

Then she leans forward, and presses her mouth to Clarke's. 

Raven's lips are soft, not at all like Finn's- her hands that cup her face and tangle in her blonde hair are gentle, delicate and soothing, not large and clumsy. They move in tandem, synchronised and so _natural._

Clarke thinks kissing Raven Reyes is the easiest thing she's ever done. 

When they finally part, Raven's dark eyes are blown wide, searching Clarke's face for a reaction, _anything._

"I'd pick you too." She murmurs- the words envelope Clarke like a warm hug, tugging at her heartstrings. 

Clarke smiles- it feels like her face is cracking open, muscles that hadn't been stretched in a while straining. She snakes an arm around Raven's waist as the mechanic continues to work, her eyes never leaving Raven's face. 

A spark of hope- she feels it within her. 

After all, she has Raven, and Raven has her. 

**Author's Note:**

> join the princess mech breakdown on twitter with me @505daytime


End file.
